Paired With The Truth
by Jacki Thompson
Summary: After getting shot at by Valarie Song's older brother, Julius, Batman and Robin promise to help her find her father, missing almost three months now. There's something about Valarie and her brother that just doesn't ring true, but even the Dynamic Duo might not be able to figure it out in time!
1. Chapter 1

Gotham City was always much creepier at night, Batman and Robin both agreed. But sometimes the best work _had _to be done in the dark. The streets of Lower Gotham were filled with gangsters, mobsters, and, of course, super-villains.

But according to the report from Gotham City Police, only two or three villains were currently on the loose; some freed, others "liberated".

The streets were dimly lit with flickering street lamps, casting an orange glow over the cracked and graffiti-filled pavement. Robin fingered his utility belt nervously, every little sound made him jump. Of course he could handle himself in a fight, but sneak attacks and traps were no joke. Heh, joke, Joker.

He was one of the few villains currently running about. And, by Robin's experience, by far the scariest. The Joker was insane. There was no rhyme or reason for what he did, and there was no gain for it. He just wanted to kill, kill, kill.

The sound of a trash can in an alleyway falling over made Robin whirl around, but there was only a scrawny black cat, hissing angrily. There was another omen, from Catwoman. Sure, Catwomen had been on their side a fair dozen times, but when she wasn't, which was about 80% of the time, she usually ended up trying to kill him, or Batman, or both,

"Robin, calm yourself." Batman's deep baritone voice came through the communicator as clearly as if he was standing right next to Robin. "There is nothing out there that can hurt us we are well prepared."

"Right. Well prepared." Robin's voice seemed higher, even to himself. "But what if-"

Suddenly, something slammed into him, knocking the breath out of him as he hit the ground. As they were going down, Robin heard a gunshot fired over his head.

Struggling, Robin could make out a small, lean figure pinning him down. The figure leaned over, and whispered in his ear ferociously, "Are you crazy? What were you thinking, coming down here?"

Robin could feel something brushing his face, and realized it was the figure's hair. Paired with the deadly sounding, but still clearly female voice, and he knew that a teenage girl had pinned him to the ground.

He felt his cheeks flush. _Batman's going to have my hide!_ He thought. _Bested by a girl!_

The girl glanced behind her quickly, then leaned down and whispered into his ear again, "Don't move, no matter what happens." Robin, deciding it would be best not to have Ninja Girl take him out again, lay perfectly still. He opened his eyes a slit and caught a glimpse of a black-haired girl – brownish in the orangey glow from the street lamps – disappearing into the alleyway.

The next thing he heard was a boy's voice in a hushed tone saying dangerously, "Why in the world didn't you let me take the shot?"

The girl's voice, only raised, shouted back, "Because then Batman's going to track us down for killing his stupid sidekick! Don't you think of anything? The best way to find out where Dad is is not to start blasting at every super villain and super hero you come across! If Batman has to come and find Robin, then he might be willing to tell us if he's holding Dad captive."

Robin's mind was whirling as he lay in front of the alleyway. Apparently, this girl and her brother thought that Batman and he were responsible for their Dad's disappearance. But that was crazy. He didn't even _know _who these people were! How in the world would he find somebody that he didn't know what they looked like? Let alone their name.

"Your brain's fried." The boy laughed coldly. Actually, come to think of it, his voice sounded more like a man's than a boy's. "You really expect us to be able to keep even Batman's _sidekick_ captive?"

"It's just what I thought." The girl sounded sullen. "Anyway, I knocked him out, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Yeah. But who knows what you could mess up." The boy laughed.

The next thing Robin heard was a loud crack, and a scream. Then came a sound like an aerosol spray can, and a sound like roaring agony, like a lion that stepped on a thorn. Suddenly the girl came barreling around the corner, cradling her right hand.

"Get up!" She hissed. "Come on! My uncle taught us how to shorten the effects of pepper spray. He'll only be decapitated for a few minutes!" Robin rolled over and hopped up.

Immediately the girl swung around and sprinted forward. Robin had to admit she was fast. They ran and ran, crisscrossing, doubling back, and taking short cuts. They ran until they couldn't hear her brother's shouts echoing behind them, filled with curses, punctuated with gun shots, and dotted with threats on "Cupid's" life.

Eventually they stopped in a dark alleyway, breathing hard and not talking for a long time. The moonlight was strong enough that Robin could see the girl and study her.

She had long, raven black hair that seemed to glow in the moonlight above. Her eyes were green and looked like feral cat's eyes. Wild, ferocious, and not trusting easily. She was dressed in a short, sleeveless black dress with bright green tights, the color of acid, and black combat boots. It was fashionable, but functional. Slung across one shoulder was a gray camouflaged bag that Robin was sure was filled with nasty tricks and treats of all sorts.

She glanced up, looking towards the rooftops. "I think your mentor came looking for you."

"What?" Robin looked up and saw Batman looking over the edge of the building, the moon behind him and making him look like some dark monster. Batman leaped down from the top of the roof and began nimbly jumping from the fire escape on one side to the other.

When he finally reached the bottom, he pulled his cape close around him and said in a monotone, "I thought I heard trouble."

The girl grimaced. "My brother, Julius. A bit of a knucklehead, if you ask me."

Robin nodded. "More than that, he almost killed me! Thankfully Ms.- I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"Valarie Song." The girl smiled grimly. "My brother calls me Cupid."

"Yeah… Why _does_ he call you that?"

"My name sounds like Valentine, and Cupid is associated with Valentine's Day."

"That…makes no sense whatsoever."

"No one ever accused my brother of being a genius." Valarie shrugged. "I call it 'the plagues of being the younger sibling'. Seriously, though. I'll have to keep out of his way for a couple weeks. Until he cools down that is."

Batman nodded. "That was a very brave thing you did."

Valarie might've been embarrassed, but it was impossible to tell. "I just want to know one thing."

Robin moved over to stand by Batman as the Dark Knight replied, "And if I can, I will answer you. "

"Do you know where my father, Dr. Travis Song, is?"

Robin looked inquisitively at Batman. "Who?"

Batman answered, "He is – he _was _– a very respected surgeon. He hasn't been seen in years."

Valarie jumped in, "He began working in the slums, and lost contact. He actually disappeared two months ago. My brother is sure that you, Batman and Robin, or some other super villains, are behind his being vanished. Do you think you could find him?"

Batman dipped his head. "We'll try our best."

A cat yowling outside made Valarie whip her head around. A gunshot was again fired in the distance. "I'd better get going. Julius is going to catch up with me soon, anyway. And he won't be too happy, seeing as I broke his nose in all. You two go and do whatever super heroes do while they're not fighting crime."

Valarie shook Robin's hand, nodded at Batman, and ran off, illuminated in the streetlamps, then disappearing on the other side of the street.

"She's a very valiant girl." Batman commented. "Gotham could use more people like her."

Robin opened his hand to find a note reading:

_If you find anything, call me._

Underneath that was a number. Valarie must have trusted the two of them a lot to give them that information.

"Well, Robin, I think that this scouting mission just came to an end. Let's see what we can find out about the Song family."


	2. Chapter 2

Back in the Batcave, Robin sat down next to Batman at the monitors. Robin had to admit, it was going to be hard to find Dr. Song. There was virtually no information about him since about sixteen years ago. At that time, Julius was two years old.

Apparently, Julius' mother had died, which gave Dr. Song a strong passion to work among the people in the slums. He'd disappeared off the grid, leaving no trace of any useful information after that.

Batman had managed to piece together a couple more things. One, he must've remarried. Two, he had obviously been careful not to tell Julius that he and Valarie were half-siblings.

"Okay, I get the remarried part." Robin consented. "But how do you gather that he never told the Song siblings that they were half-siblings?"

"Bruce Wayne knew Dr. Song very well." Batman replied, "Half-siblings don't have nearly the loyalty to each other that full siblings do. I don't think he wanted them to start protesting that they were only half-brother and sister."

"If you knew Dr. Song so well, then why didn't he keep in touch?"

"I suspect that the answer to that is that he either was too busy with his work, or he forgot that people were waiting to hear from him."

Alfred appeared, carrying a plate of cookies. "Pardon me, sir, but I thought you and Master Robin might be getting hungry."

Robin snatched two of the cookies off the tray, and started nibbling on one thoughtfully. Valarie seemed perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but her brother – sorry, _half-brother _– was a gun-toting maniac. Of course he was impressed that she had managed to give Julius a broken nose! But it made him feel a bit weak to have been taken down so easily.

Robin reminded himself it was lucky he hadn't seen her coming. Otherwise he'd now be in a grave with a bullet through his skull. Maybe he needed to talk with her about how she managed to have such quick reflexes…

….. PAGE BREAK…

Valarie was seriously upset. She'd managed to get away from her brother rather easily at first, but when she was taking the roundabout way back to the apartment that they had shared with their father he'd leaped out from a side alleyway and managed to get a shot to her shoulder.

The pain was intense, but there were plenty of gunmen where they lived, and Valarie had been shot before. It hurt, but she would survive. Julius had disappeared again, but was at the apartment when she got there. Without a word, he'd helped her get the bullet out – which was almost excruciating as getting shot in the shoulder in the first place – then dressed the wound.

Valarie never knew what kind of mood Julius would be in. When they were younger, he would throw her toys and break them, tear out the pages in her coloring books, and then the next morning would be making new ones for her. Julius was four years older than her, which meant he was legally an adult.

But what it also meant was that he was totally in charge of her until Dad got back. It was so hard to have to do everything he said.

After helping her, he'd disappeared into the bedroom that they had once shared. Since Dad had gone missing, Valarie had either slept in his bedroom or on the over-stuffed couch in the living room.

Valarie sighed, using her left hand to pull herself up. She loved Julius, but he had always been a little too unpredictable for her taste. Speaking of taste, it was almost eleven o'clock at night. She needed to make some dinner for the two of them.

The kitchen in their apartment was small and outdated, but functional. The stove was an olive green color that her dad said was the most fashionable of colors during the fifties.

Valarie pulled out two cans of tomato soup, some bread, butter, and garlic. Her dad had loved Italian garlic bread, and Valarie had learned how to make it almost perfectly.

She set the oven – which was supposed to be white but so stained that it could be called beige – to 350 degrees. While it was warming up she washed and opened the cans of tomato soup and put them in a blue white-speckled soup pot, and set the gas burning stove on low.

Then Valarie opened the bag of bread and began spreading butter and garlic on the bread. The oven beeped, and Valarie slid the tray into the oven with her good hand, wincing as she used the other arm to close the door.

She set the timer for five minutes, then sat down to wait. Suddenly, the last door on the right of the short, dirty hallway opened, and Julius came out.

"Hey, Cupid." He sat down on one of the two small stools at the breakfast bar, which was more like the dining room table; there simply wasn't room for one in the apartment.

Valarie scowled. "That's my nickname from when we were kids. Don't you remember, _Caesar?_"

Julius laughed softly. "Yeah, I'd totally forgotten. That nickname always got on my nerves. Now, well, it seems to fit me better."

Valarie walked over to the stove with her back to Julius and started stirring the soup. "How so?"

"Well, a couple of the different emperors of Rome were mad. Sometimes, I feel like I can't control myself. Tonight, when I tried to kill you and Robin? I think that it was one of those times. They've gotten worse since Dad…" His voice trailed off.

Valarie put down her spoon and came back over to the bar. "I think that I forgive you for – well, you know…" The conversation was awkward, but Valarie was determined that she could tell him how much she still loved him.

"By the way, sorry about your nose."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. You got me good." Julius grinned. He looked so much more like Dad. His hair was curly and brown, carelessly good-looking. If his nose weren't broken, it would have made him look rather like royalty. Just very much like he deserved everything the world had to offer.

"I'll get something for that." Valarie crossed the kitchen, which only took about two steps, and then reached up towards the medicine cabinet. The cabinet held all her father's medical supplies, and was almost full, despite both of them having to get something from the cabinet at least twice a week.

She took out a special bandage from the cabinet and handed it to Julius. "Thanks, Sis." He flashed her a grin, one that reached all the way into his eyes. They were brown, like Dad's, but in the right light, you could see flecks of blue in his eyes. Valarie had never been sure what the specks had come from, seeing as Mom had green eyes, like her. But Dad said just because she had dark hair, didn't mean the gene for blonde wasn't there.

Valarie had used to giggle, because it rhymed. Now, it was hard to smile any more, much less laugh.

"Did you start up some of our tomato soup store?" Julius asked, his voice tense with pain. Valarie turned around to see him struggling to put the bandage on right.

"Here." Valarie took the adhesive from him, and carefully applied it to the bridge of his nose.

"Thanks, Cupid."

Valarie looked at him, and suddenly, the nickname didn't annoy her as much as it used to. As if they were thinking the same thing, Julius got up from his stool and Valarie came around the side of the bar. They walked straight into each other's hugs. Julius was much taller than Valarie, but she didn't care. She snuggled her face into his faded skull sweatshirt and just enjoyed it.

The timer was ringing for about a minute before Valarie felt her brother release her. "I think something's calling you."

"_No!" _She wanted to shout, "_Don't stop!" _But she slid away from him, her arms dropping to her sides.

Valarie ladled the soup into two bowls and put all the garlic bread on a plate. She and Julius sat on the couch together, sipping the soup and eating the hot garlic bread. They didn't talk much, but Julius put on some jazz on the old CD player.

Valarie hesitated for a moment, then leaned her head against her brother's chest. She felt him tense for a split second, then relax and put his around her.

Eventually, Valarie's eyes closed. She didn't even notice when Julius laid her on the couch and went back to his room, turning the lights off behind him.

… PAGE BREAK…

The next morning, the clattering in the kitchen woke Valarie up. She sat up, realizing that a plain black quilt had been thrown over her. The next thing that she noticed was that she was still on her clothes from last night, minus her boots, which were on the floor next to her makeshift bed.

"Hey, Cupid! You're up!" Julius walked into the living room.

Valarie stared at him for a few minutes, then busted out laughing. Julius was wearing a sheet from the linen closet like a toga, a purple scarf, and a wreath spray-painted gold on his head.

He looked like a Roman emperor from a junkyard. "Julius… what in the world… are you wearing?" Valarie asked in between laughs.

Julius grinned, his wreath falling off his head. He picked it up and put it back on. "Remember last night how I said that I felt like some of the Roman emperors last night? Well, I decided to surprise you and dress up as Nero for breakfast. Now, follow my lead."

Julius-Nero straightened his 'toga' and raised his finger in the air like he was about to deliver a statement. "I, Nero, have had a quarrel with Neptune! To show him whose boss, or the Roman equivalent of it anyway, we will attack the sea!"

Julius-Nero pointed at the couch. "Attack!" He picked up a pillow and began beating Valarie with it.

Shrieking, then laughing, Valarie picked up her pillow and began to beat him with it. They were still at it when the teakettle whistled.

"Oh, right!" Julius exclaimed. His toga, wreath, and scarf had fallen off during the battle, revealing the white t-shirt and jeans he was wearing underneath. "I made some oatmeal and tea for you, coffee for me. Then we can start looking again."

Oh, right. Valarie had forgotten. They were having such a grand time just a moment ago. She looked around. The apartment was a mess, no doubt about that. The laundry pile was at least to Julius' knee. The dirty dishes from yesterday were already attracting flies. Not that that was surprising, considering the complex that they lived in.

She made a split second decision. "No."

"Sorry?" Julius turned around, balancing two oatmeal bowls and two mugs.

"We can't start looking for Dad while the apartment looks like this." Valarie swept her hand in a wide arc. "We'll clean, _then_ we'll for Dad."

Julius shrugged. "You're the boss." Valarie was surprised that he had let her change plans without one complaint, but she was going to take advantage of it.

"Okay. I'll make a list, then we can get started."

"Whoa, there, Little Sis." Julius put up his hands in a 'stop everything' gesture. "First, we need to eat. Now, brown sugar? Butter? Salt? Raisins?"

Valarie accepted everything but the raisins, stirring the oatmeal for a good five minutes, chewing her pencil as she wrote the list. When she was finished with the list, she took a few big mouthfuls, finishing her oatmeal in less than three minutes. After that, she stirred sugar into her tea thoughtfully, trying to think if she'd missed anything.

When she took the first sip, Valarie's eyes widened with surprise. She took another sip, then another. "Julius, you made blueberry tea!"

"You like it?" Julius asked anxiously. "I saw that almost full box and didn't know whether that was because you didn't like it, or because there were so many other flavors in there. Seriously, who needs so many different fruit flavors? Raspberry? Black Cherry? Peach? Why do you even like that?"

"Because I like sweet flavors." Valarie retorted, taking another sip from her mug. It was her special mug. Her brother and father both had one too, one that they used each morning. They also used them when they drank hot chocolate or soup when they were sick. Hers was sky blue, with her initials, 'VAS', Valarie Annabelle Song, in golden, sparkling cursive.

When she was finished, Valarie ripped the list she had made in half. "You do this half, I'll do this half."

Before he started picking up, though, Julius put in their dad's Bing Crosby CD. As un-cool as Bing Crosby was, they both needed something that was their dad's to keep him right there with them.

Valarie's eyes filled with tears for a second, fear filling ever cavity in her body. What if Dad was dead? What if he was hurt? What if, even if they did find him, they were too late to save him? Valarie shook her head firmly, shaking away the bad thoughts.

Crossing to the tiny dishwasher, Valarie turned the water up to hot, then got out a scrubber and dish soap. The water wasn't suitable to drink, but it would do to wash dishes. Eventually, steam started coming out of the tap, and Valarie plugged the sink and dumped plenty of dish soap into the sink and began scrubbing.

Robin and Batman came to mind while she was mindlessly scoured the various dishes. She wondered if they had found anything that might help them find Dad, or if they had decided not to help out. After all, it was Julius who had tried to kill Robin. Some of her friends in the slums were sure that he was a 'hot' boy underneath the mask.

At first, Valarie hadn't been sure that the kind of mask the Boy Wonder had been wearing was enough to hide an identity. But after staring at him for a good fifteen minutes, she had to say that if she saw him without the mask, she might never recognize him.

As for him being cute, well, let's just say that Valarie had never really found boys to be in any way, shape, or form attractive. It kind of happened after getting shot at by a couple of the opposite gender.

Yes, Julius hadn't been the first one to take a pot shot at her. Valarie's reflexes were good enough that a couple of the meaner kids tried to see if they could hit her. They almost never did, though, and she didn't tell her dad.

The dishwasher was full and running, the dishes that hadn't fit had been put away by the time Julius returned. "I picked up and vacuumed the living room and entryway. What next?"

"Didn't you read your list? You need to do the laundry now." After Julius disappeared back further into the apartment, Valarie went and stood by the front door, which was basically a five-foot hallway. Next, it opened into the living room, pretty small, but still the biggest room in the 'house'.

To the right, the hallway that led to the two bedrooms and bathroom. To the left, the tiny kitchen. There were two windows on the far side of the living room, but the blinds were closed. Valarie crossed to the windows and pulled up the blinds. The sight outside was gloomy, but Valarie always enjoyed a good thunderstorm. When Dad was still home, they would curl up under blankets with his special 'weather chocolate', which was basically hot chocolate with homemade whipped cream and peppermint ground into it.

The list was almost completed when the phone rang. "I'll get it!" Valarie called, running over to the Mickey Mouse (Mickey Mouse, Dad? Really?) mounted wall phone and picking up the receiver.

"Hello?"

At first there was silence. Then, a maniacal voice whispered, "My dear niece, there is only one you're going to find my _dear _brother-in-law."

Valarie's fingers whitened around the receiver. "Where is he?" She demanded. "What have you done to him?"

"All in good time, my dear. Now, if you want him to stay in one piece, you'll do _exactly _what I say."

After hanging up, Julius came out from the bathroom; rubbing his hands dry on a clean towel. "Well, everything's done. Now-" He noticed her broken expression. "Cupid? What's wrong?"

Valarie sighed deeply. "Julius, our uncle called." Then she began to explain everything.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, all my viewers! Until I get at least five good reviews, the next chapter will not be posted. Also, check out my other story if you like either Percy Jackson or Katniss Everdeen. Jacki has spoken. You may read.**

After school the next afternoon, Dick Grayson was in no hurry to get home. There was no question that he'd be required to come down to the Batcave and help Batman search for Dr. Song.

For two and half days now, Batman had been trying to find anything that might help them find the Song's father. Dick could still remember Valarie's scent as she had pressed him against the ground.

Of course he wasn't falling in love with her! Batman always said that you couldn't protect a city efficiently when always trying to protect your love interest. Take Superman, for example. He always had to save Lois Lane.

What was going to happen if he had to choose between saving a city and saving Lois Lane? There was no doubt he'd choose Lois.

The kids that went to Gotham City Academy were a bit dull, but Dick doubted that many of them had a secret identity. He had a few friends, but he was always disappearing for training or for a mission. No one could depend on him. It was hard, but Dick enjoyed being Robin so much, that it didn't bother him.

Just then, the limousine pulled up. Alfred was in the driver's seat. Dick turned away, pretending that he hadn't seen Alfred. But he couldn't pretend when he felt a tap on his shoulder and a formal voice saying, "Pardon me, Master Dick. But Master Bruce has requested your presence immediately."

Sighing, Dick followed Alfred to the car. "It would be a little less conspicuous if you just used, I don't know, a sedan or sports car?"

"I'm sorry if I caused you any inconvenience, Master Dick, but can you honestly say that I would 'fit in' as you say, if I drove the Batmobile?"

"No." Dick sighed and slumped against the window. It was going to be a long drive.

By the time Robin reached the Batcave, Batman was on the phone, talking to somebody. Most likely Commissioner Gordon, whom they got most of their missions from. "Yes, Ms. Song."

Oh. "I assure you, we will keep you posted on every development."

Robin sat down, tracing lines in the stainless steel table. The cold froze his fingers, but it felt good. "Hold on one second, Ms. Song." Batman put a hand over the receiver and glared at Robin. "Somebody could trace your fingerprints. Put your gloves on."

Batman could be pretty paranoid at times, but Robin complied, pulling on the green gloves.

There were sometimes when Batman's instructions made perfect sense, but other times when Robin just wanted to be able to go his own way. "Yes, of course. Here he is."

Robin looked at the nudge from Batman. He was holding out the phone, his expression impossible to read.

Robin took the bright red phone and held it to his ear. "Hello?"

A calm voice, but one he didn't recognize exactly, spoke softly. "Robin. Can we talk somewhere alone?"

Robin sat forward. "Who is this?" He demanded. The voice on the other end said something indistinguishable, then two laughs flowed out of the earpiece. The voice came back on, composed once more. "My name is Caesar, and I would like to talk with you privately. Can we meet tonight, where you and Batman had a little run-in with Valarie Song?"

"How do you know that?" Robin demanded.

"That's for me to know and you to find out. Now, you might want to hurry, as this might be the last time you ever hear from Ms. Song." The voice said her name in a very formal way, almost like Alfred.

The line went dead. Robin looked at the phone, then set it on the stand again. "Batman, we have a problem."

At midnight, Robin peeked out from behind a trash bin in the alley where he and Valarie had hid from her senseless older brother. The time was right, but Caesar hadn't shown up yet.

He checked the time again. Yup, it was 12 o'clock, midnight. Where was the jerk? Valarie had saved his life once, now it was only right that he return the favor.

Suddenly, a small object rolled into the alleyway, stopping at Robin's feet. He leaned down to look at it, then became aware of a ticking sound, getting quicker with each passing moment.

Robin, realizing it was a bomb, jumped as far back into the alleyway as was possible. The bomb went off, but instead of exploding, sparks and smokes came pouring into the night air. Coughing and choking, Robin hid his nose and mouth inside his cape, eyes watering.

When he'd recovered, he looked back out. Standing where the smoke bomb had gone off were two figures. One was tall and muscular. The other, standing slightly behind the first figure, was small, lean, and also rather toned.

The smoke cleared even more, revealing the first figure to be a man, the second to be a woman, or maybe a girl.

The man was wearing a Roman-styled death mask, with leather jacket, boots, and dark jeans. He was wearing a top hat that had a ring of gold branches around it, almost like the brim. It might have not looked good on other people, but he managed to pull it off.

The girl had cherry-pink tresses, curled into tight ringlets and pulled into high ponytails. Her dress was pink, frilly, and had hearts all over it. She was wearing white tights that disappeared into pink, heart and diamond encrusted platform boots. The outfit wasn't helping Robin out in finding out anything about Valarie's abductors. There was a quiver full of hot pink arrows slung over her shoulder, and she was holding a bow of matching hues.

Her face wasn't recognizable, either. White face paint cover over most of her face, and the area around her eyes was covered with a stylized sparkly pink mask. It looked like something you would wear during Mardi Gras.

Robin, after taking all this in by the end of a millisecond, got into a fighting pose.

"Oh, please, Robin. We're not here to fight you." The man said. He had a thick English accent, rivaling even Alfred's.

"Yeah, we just wanna talk." The girl standing behind him giggled. Her voice sounded remarkably like Harley Quinn's, though she was way too young to be Harley. Maybe they came from the same region?

"I thought you said to come alone." Robin said, keeping one eye on Mardi Gras girl.

"Ah, yes. Please excuse Eros. She absolutely refused to be left behind. By the way, have you two met? Robin, meet my protégé, Eros. Eros, meet Robin, Boy Wonder. You two have a lot in common, you know. You're both protégés, and you both are considered rather stupid by a lot of your enemies; no offense intended."

"Hey, Robin." Eros cocked her head to one side, her curls bouncing. "I must admit, you're not exactly what I expected." She blew a bright pink bubble of gum, popping it loudly.

"Enough of the talk. Tell me where she is!" Robin demanded.

"Ah! I always like a fellow who gets right to the point!" Caesar exclaimed. "Eros, please go and fetch Ms. Song."

"Sure thing, Mistah C." Robin swore that if it wasn't so obvious Eros was his age, he might have thought that Harley had abandoned the Joker and teamed up with this psycho.

Eros ran around the side of the building, right back onto the street. The action made Robin suspicious. Who puts a hostage right were everyone can see them?

Apparently, these goofballs still had an awful lot to learn. Eros came back around the side of the building, carrying the unconscious girl. Robin had to admit, that girl was strong. Eros dumped Valarie against the dumpster and came back over to stand by Caesar.

"Ms. Song! Are you alright?" Robin asked lowly. Unfortunately, Caesar heard him.

"She, unfortunately, will not be fine. You see, she knows too much. It's a liability, you understand. I am terribly sorry about this."

Caesar raised his gun and shot, before Robin could do anything. "No!" He cried, leaping forward. But he was too late. The bullet pierced Valarie's temple, and even being unconscious, she seemed to crumple into herself.

Robin was horrorstruck. Valarie…was gone. Just like that. Even in the short time that he'd known her, she'd seemed to get him, understanding. Even now, he couldn't have said he loved her, but she had become a very dear friend.

He whirled to glare at Caesar and Eros. "How could you do that?" He demanded. "She didn't do anything wrong."

"Well, I'm sorry you're so upset, Robin, because, well…"

"This is a prank!" Eros pulled off her mask, revealing the laughing face of Valarie underneath it. "You should have seen your face!" She chortled. "Classic!"

Caesar had pulled off his mask; revealing Julius Song, laughing so hard tears were sliding down his face.

"Dude, that was hilarious! I can't believe you fell for that!" Julius was leaning against the wall for support, banging his fist into it hard enough to crack sections of the stone.

Robin, watching them, was at first relieved, then angry, then curious. "I have to ask: how was Valarie standing next to you, _Caesar_, and over there?" He pointed to the dumpster, where Valarie's dead body had been.

"Dude, do you ever get out?" Julius asked. "My mom made us some projectors that have 3-D images on them. We filmed Valarie in all the different positions that we needed to pull this off, then 'Caesar and Eros' took care of the rest."

"Here, I'll show you." Valarie slipped off on off the fingerless gloves she had been wearing. Around the wrist was a cluster of fake gems. Valarie hit the heart-shaped one in the middle, and over by the dumpster, a duplicate of her being carried on a shoulder lit up. Valarie hit a white fake diamond in the ring around the big gem. Up flashed a still image of her leaning up against the dumpster.

"Okay, that makes sense. But how did you make her die?" Robin asked.

"They used special effects." A deep voice answered. Batman walked into the small cove, almost disappearing as he moved out of the glare of the streetlamps. "The technology they used came from a film company."

"That's right." Julius nodded. "Our uncle and his girlfriend were in the area and managed to get us some." Julius suddenly rubbed the back of his head, looking embarrassed. "Uh, by the way, Robin. I'm sorry that I shot at you. I wasn't really in full control of my actions. I'm deeply regretful of everything that happened while I was in that state."

Valarie nodded, swinging her arm and wincing, clutching near her shoulder blade. Robin noticed, sliding around Batman and Julius to get close to her and see.

The bloody bandage was all he needed. "You _shot _your own sister?" Robin's disbelief was evident through his voice.

Julius looked heartbroken. "I really didn't mean to do it. It just sort of, I don't know, happened."

"Besides." Valarie broke in. "I've forgiven Julius already. You should too." She glared at Robin so fiercely that Robin nodded as quickly as he could.

"Yeah. He's forgiven."

Valarie relaxed. "Good."

"One more question." The brother and sister turned to stare at the Boy Wonder. "Were in the world did you come up with those names?"

Batman answered. "Julius Caesar was am ancient Roman emperor, while the name Cupid, as you know is Ms. Song's nick name, is the Roman version of the god Eros."

Both the Song kids looked stunned. Julius shook it off first. "Alright, that's great and all, but Val and I have something to tell you. Is there somewhere private we could go?"

Batman and Robin looked at one another.

In five minutes, they were all in the Batmobile. "I'm going to have to knock you out." Robin apologized.

"We understand. Maintaining cover and all." Valarie acknowledged. Julius nodded.

Robin pulled out a piece of cloth kept for just such occasions. He held it against each of the Song children's face for a couple seconds. The effect was immediate. Both of the kids slumped as if hit with Harley Quinn's hammer.

Robin got into the front seat and Batman floored the pedal. They were about to take the two siblings somewhere no other person had ever seen: the Batcave.


	4. Chapter 4

Valarie woke up slowly, seeing only deep shadows punctuated with brilliant white light. The contrast made her squint for a second, wondering where she was. Then it all came flooding back to her. The prank. Robin. The Batmobile. Sitting up quickly, Valarie's vision went black. She put her head in her hands, waiting for the head rush to pass.

When she could see again, Valarie could see she was on a table, stainless steel, and that the Batcave was…exactly that. A cave. Granted, it was filled with technology of all types and probably the nicest cave in the history of all high-tech caves.

She hopped off the table and looked around. There were thin strips of metal running around and around, connecting different areas to each other. Valarie could hear voices from the end of one of the catwalks, and she followed the sound, ending up in a cozy looking area, complete with chairs and a table. Batman was at the _huge _computer.

Valarie couldn't see what he was doing, but it looked important. The screen of the monitor itself was bigger than her bedroom. Not that that was saying much, seeing as where they lived.

"Cupid! You're up!" Julius engulfed her in a hug, pulling her in close. He whispered in her ear. "Here. You might want this." He pressed something into her hand, then stepped back.

Valarie looked down. It was one of the outrageous gloves that had been part of her Eros costume. Thankful that her brother had noticed and helped her cover the hideous scar on the palm of her hand before anyone else spotted it, Valarie pulled on the glove.

She then noticed with embarrassment that she was still wearing her Eros costume. It was garish, noticeable, and not at all her style. Valarie didn't know when Julius had had time to make the costume, but it was something that she'd only wear once in a blue moon.

Valarie preferred an old black hoodie of hers that had the color wheel painted on it in the shape of rock guitars, paint splattered (that was the style of the sweatshirt), with eighth notes painted on it and sprinkled with little rhinestones.

She loved that hoodie, and normally paired it with combat boots and black skinny jeans. Valarie also wore her gold locket. Valarie touched the locket. So many things were bittersweet. Her locket, paired with her scar. The terrible things that she should have done something about… No. Valarie told herself firmly. I'm not going to think about those things. It doesn't help to think about what I didn't prevent, but could have.

Robin wasn't really paying attention to anything that was going on around him, but was staring off into space. It was cute, but irritating. "Hey!" Valarie snapped her fingers right under his nose. "Boy Blunder! Does this little bird have a brain?"

Robin jolted out of his trance straightaway, frowning as he processed her words. "I think I've been called that before. I just can't remember who…"

Valarie inwardly cursed herself. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! _"Well, yeah! Of course, a lot of people…say that! Even in our neighborhood! Sorry, it must have rubbed off on me."

Robin nodded, but didn't look totally satisfied.

"So, anyway." Julius broke in, trying to look calm and collected. He was succeeding, too, except that Valarie knew him so well that she could see clearly how much her slip-up had rattled him. "We had something that we thought would be a good idea to tell you."

Robin reluctantly turned to him. "Yeah, you did. And what is this 'valuable piece of information'?"

"We – that is, we," Julius gestured to his sister and himself. "Believe that Dad is being held in either our area of town, or in one of the abandoned areas of town, like the shipyards."

Robin crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "That helps us narrow the search a bit, but it'll still take us weeks to search all of your neck of the woods _and_ all the abandoned buildings in Gotham."

"Julius and I can take care of our neighborhood." Valarie jumped in. "That narrows it down a lot."

"I don't think that's good idea." Batman turned from the computer. "But I think we can find somewhere for you to stay until we find Dr. Song."

"You don't think we can take care of ourselves?" Valarie asked skeptically.

"No, I just think it would be safer with-"

"With who? The Bruce Wayne Foundation?" Valarie threw her head back and laughed scornfully. "Believe me, we're not that desperate."

Robin, having started up at Valarie's scorn of Bruce Wayne, sat down again at a look from Batman.

"And don't even get me started on the play boy himself, or that _ward_ of his." Valarie said the word 'ward' as if it was a bad word.

Batman caught Robin's eye again, and almost imperceptibly shook his head. While they could defend Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, they couldn't sound too close to the two prominent figures, otherwise the Song's might start to guess something was up.

"If you believe you don't need protection, Ms. Song, then we shall take you home."

Valarie nodded her head decisively. "And I'll _show _you how I can take care of myself."

**PAGE BREAK**

The ride back to the Song's apartment was very quiet, mostly because they were unconscious for most of the time. When they did wake up, they decided not to disturb the silence.

The route that the Batmobile took wound in and out of an old warehouse complex. Robin didn't know why they were coming this way, but he trusted Batman's reasons. The sky was cloudless, but there was only a crescent moon that could be seen. The stars twinkled as if they were saying, "We know something, but we can't tell you what."

It wasn't in a mean way, but more in an apologetic way that the stars were sending the message.

Suddenly, the stack of crates right next to the Batmobile exploded, sending debris everywhere. Batman pulled on the wheel hard, spinning the vehicle in a complete circle.

After Robin had recovered from the blast, he looked into the back. Valarie was staring, wide-eyed, out the window. Julius must have hit his head, because he was out cold.

"Did you see him?" Valarie exclaimed.

"Who?" Robin asked, confused.

"The Joker! Running around the side of that building!" Valarie unbuckled. "I'm going after him!"

"Wait!" Robin called, stepping outside the Batmobile. "You can't just go running after the Joker!"

"Watch me." Valarie donned her pink mask and pulled an arrow out of her quiver, racing after the fleeing figure, who Robin could now see with growing dread was wearing a plum colored suit.

Batman had checked on Julius by that point and came to stand next to Robin.

"Batman! She…She just went after the Joker!"

"Does that girl have a death wish?" The Knight muttered. "Come on, Robin! Let's see whether she can manage to stay alive until we get there."

It was easy to follow Valarie. Her bright pink outfit stood out brilliantly against all the dark shadows everywhere. She looked a bit like a fairy, though she seemed bent on chasing down the murderer, not sprinkling pixie dust on all the earth.

The figure in the plum suit disappeared inside a warehouse, and without delay Valarie followed him inside.

Robin was about to dash after her when Batman put out his hand. "Robin! Look!" On either side of the bay doors, which were opened as wide as they would go, was a face that they both knew well. The stuffed face, normally so harmless and endearing, looked sinister and dark with the paint running down it, still wet.

"Oh, no." Robin whispered.

A scream came from within the warehouse, and Batman and Robin shared one glance before racing inside.

Lying curled in the fetal position, Valarie's face had a look of utter terror on it. She screamed again and seemed to curl in deeper within herself.

The thing that both Batman and Robin's eyes were locked on, though, was the figure standing over the girl. His clothes were old and worn, patched, with straw sticking through it from all angles. His mask usually sent crows screeching, trying to get as far away as possible. But in his case, it usually sent the population running, terrified.

"Batman. You need to stop getting new apprentices! I can barely keep count!" The Scarecrow admonished.

**PAGE BREAK**

Valarie looked around. She was inside a building, absolutely packed with people. There was barely room to walk, much less run, should the need be. "No." Valarie whispered.

She turned around, starting to fight her way through the crowd. She was nearly at the back when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

Rimless glasses, a peach-colored cardigan with a light blue camisole underneath it. Her hair wasn't colored, but it was in two positively adorable pigtails. The denim skirt with daffodil-yellow leggings and gray boots completed the look. Valarie remembered that outfit. She had been wearing it the day everything had changed.

Suddenly, there was a huge blast that sent several people, including Valarie, sprawling. She hit her head on a display case, making her black out for a second. When her vision cleared, a man with white skin and green hair was standing in the middle of a pile of bricks.

People screamed and ran for the doors, only to begin coughing, then laughing hysterically as the purple hued gas hit them. The few unfortunate people who got a large dose were soon on their knees, laughing until tears rolled down their faces, the keeling over, still wearing smiles that were too wide for their faces.

"Oh, come on, doesn't anyone want to hear some of my jokes?" The Joker cackled. Everyone stepped back, except for one little girl, who stood there uncomprehendingly. The Joker noticed her immediately.

"Why, hello, there. And what might your name be?" The Joker said softly, and he actually sounded friendly.

"Marianne." The little girl said shyly, smiling at him.

"Come here, Marianne. I have something you might like." The Joker's voice was so cheery; Valarie should have called out to Marianne, told her to run, but no. She let Marianne make friends with the biggest psycho in Gotham.

Marianne hesitated, then walked slowly towards the Joker. Valarie was surprised by how alike she and Marianne looked.

But Marianne's hair was a dirty blonde, like burnished gold. She had it back in two incredibly straight pigtails, and was wearing bold blue half-rimmed glasses that accentuated the freckles on her fair skin.

The adorable eight-year-old was also wearing a sky-blue half-hoodie that showed off her gorgeous blue eyes, with a school emblem on it. Underneath that was a plain white t-shirt, untucked over a denim skirt with a plaid patch. There was just a bit of the little girl's jeggings peaking out from underneath her skirt, with some heather gray boots over top.

The Joker grasped her head in his hands and placed them forehead-to-forehead. "Now here's something I always want to you remember. Always keep on smiling. You got that?"

Marianne nodded, flashing him the cutest smile ever.

"That's perfect! Now can you keep the smile?"

Marianne smiled as big as she possibly could,

The Joker clapped his hands, his hands, crying out, "That's perfect!"

Then, before anyone could do anything to stop it, Joker reached out and, _snap! _He twisted Marianne's head sharply to one side. The crack made quite a few people scream, but Valarie was too horrified to do anything but stare at the body of the little girl. The most vomit-inducing thing was the fact that there was still a smile on that adorable face, but the eyes stared at nothing.

"Well, I must be off! Things to do and people to see!" The Joker hopped back through the hole and was gone.

Valarie knelt next to Marianne's body, tears forming in her eyes at she stared at the tiny body. A glint of gold caught her eye, and she reached over and picked it up. It was a gold locket, shaped like a heart.

Valarie pressed it as hard as she could into her fist, but suddenly, she couldn't let go. There was a burning pain spreading over her, starting in her hand and slowly fanning out until it was coursing through her body.

Screaming, Valarie tried to let go of the locket, but her hand stuck to it like glue. The world was growing black around her, and all she could think was, _"Please. Let this pain stop…"_


End file.
